Born on June 21, 1921, in Haverhill, Massachusetts, John Trefry, a proud and patriotic member of "the greatest generation" provided his final salute on March 31, 2020.
He was predeceased by his wife of 69 years, Evelyn. He leaves behind a son and daughter, Allen and Cindy, a grandson, Jay (Cindy), three great grandsons, Gage, Briggs and Gunner and a step great granddaughter, Ramey.
He moved to Florida from Massachusetts when he was five and was reared in Lake Mary, St. Augustine and Daytona. He attended the University of Florida but dropped out of school, like thousands of men his age and younger, just after Pearl Harbor, to enlist in the military. He eventually be became a 2nd Lieutenant in the Eighth Air Force, 379th Bomb Group, flying 30 combat missions over Europe. His first 6 missions were over Berlin and the last mission was over Port du Calais on June 6,1944.
After leaving the service in 1947 he became an electrician in Roswell, New Mexico, leaving in 1957 to return to Florida and settled in West Palm Beach. He later was employed by the City of West Palm Beach as a traffic signal electrician and supervisor, retiring at the age of 66.
During his working years he stayed active in the military as a member of the Air Force Reserve in West Palm Beach rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel. At the same time he was working and serving in the Reserve, he was active in the Boy Scouts of America as Assistant Scoutmaster for Camping for Troop 142, sponsored by Wagg Memorial Methodist Church, and for several years as a Neighborhood and District Commissioner.
In his retirement years he and Evelyn spent long hours hours creating a backyard vegetated jungle. Their favorite part of this time was taking a break in middle of the afternoon when birds and squirrels told them it was feeding time. They stopped work, got their drinks and snacks, and provided bird seed and unshelled peanuts to the wildlife gathered there. Dad continued this practice even after he went to a care facility until he could do it no longer.
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